Sadness and Sorrow: A Tale of the Forgotten
by Hoshi-Zuuri
Summary: A lone shinobi of uncertain allegiance traveling alone in a forest at night meets with a lost child. Who is the child, why are they alone in the forest, and why does the shinobi seem so sad when the child asks the shinobi certain questions?
1. Chapter 1: Midnight Meeting

A/N: This story was inspired by PuppiesxRxKawaii's story "[:|The Raven and the Crow: |Itachi| Storytelling |Uchiha| (Chapter 1)|:]" and the song "Mad World" by Micheal Andrews. And no, the Sakura in the story is not Haruno Sakura, Sakura is just a girl's name and I wanted it to be easy to tell whether the kid was a boy or a girl.

~*~

_anyone lived in a pretty how town_

_(with up so floating many bells down)_

_spring summer autumn winter_

_he sang his didn't he danced his did._

_  


* * *

  
_

The air was cool and still that night. Wind whistled through the trees, gently rustling the leaves. The velvety sky, inky blue-black, was dotted by countless stars. A full moon hung in the sky, washing the earth in its silver light. Small nocturnal animals went about their usual business, creating only the slightest of noises.

A figure moved through the trees, lithely jumping from branch to branch. As the figure darted across a patch of moonlight, a piece of metal glinted, briefly flashing liquid silver in the pale light. The piece of metal was a shinobi headband.

The shinobi paused suddenly, head cocked to one side. The shinobi was clearly listening for something. After a moment, the shinobi started moving again, but in an entirely different direction than before.

Soon, another sound could be heard in the nighttime air, disturbing the sounds of the animals and the wind. The sound was of muffled sobbing, and the shinobi was headed right for it.

A small child leaned against a tree, half in the moonlight, and half in shadow. Dark pools of liquid were splattered around the child and were scattered all throughout the surrounding area. In the moonlight, the liquid looked jet black.

The shinobi stopped several feet in front of the child, disguised in a blotch of inky shadow. They watched the child for a few moments before slowly and deliberately stepping out into the open. The child instantly froze up, whimpering with fright. As the shinobi drew closer, the child retreated into the shadows of the forest.

Realizing the child's fear, the shinobi stopped. "You can come out now. I'm not going to hurt you," they said in a soft and gentle voice. To emphasize their point, the shinobi crouched low to the ground. The child stopped scooting backwards, but made no move to get any closer to the shinobi.

"It's okay," the shinobi continued. "I'm a friend. Why don't you and I walk together, and you can tell me what happened?" The shinobi's voice was cool and soft, and had a curious, musical lilt to it. Their tone of voice was comforting, almost maternal.

The child struggled with their emotions for a few minutes before throwing itself into the shinobi's outstretched arms and sobbing piteously into the shinobi's shoulder.

"There, there," soothed the shinobi, picking up the child and slowly rocking them back and forth. The shinobi stepped into a pool of moonlight, revealing soft, feminine curves. The child's body was pressed against the kunoichi's body. Violent sobs wracked the child's body. The kunoichi stroked the child's head and murmured soft words in a consolatory tone.

After the child and the kunoichi had walked a distance, and the child had stopped crying, the kunoichi spoke. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

The child sniffled. "O-okay. There were these people-"

"What's your name?" the kunoichi asked.

"Sakura," the child sniffled.

"Sakura… That's a beautiful name," the kunoichi said. "How old are you, Sakura?"

"Seven," was the slightly muffled reply.

"Seven, huh? That's a good age."

"What's your name?" Sakura asked.

The kunoichi gave a small, nostalgic smile. "Yuriko."

The two walked on for a little while, Yuriko stroking Sakura's head. As they walked, the sky darkened. Suddenly, a rumble of thunder broke the tranquil silence of the night. Rain began to fall, softly at first, but it soon came down in blinding torrents of icy cold water. Yuriko hunkered over Sakura to protect the small child from the droplets of stinging rain, but to no avail.

Yuriko cursed softly. "We'd better find shelter soon, or we're both going to be frozen solid! This isn't good!"

* * *

_A single tear fell,_

"_Why did you have to go?"_

_But the rest of the plea was lost_

_Swept away by time's endless flow._


	2. Chapter 2: Forgotten Lullaby

_women and men (both little and small)_

_cared for anyone not at all_

_they sowed their isn't they reaped their same_

_sun moon stars rain_

* * *

The storm that night was brutal. Blinding sheets of icy rain thundered down onto the earth, turning regular ground into thick, dark mud. The droplets of rail fell so hard that getting hit by them felt almost like getting shot or stung.

It was through this rain that a kunoichi ran, clutching a small child to her breast. The kunoichi had dark brown hair neatly piled up on her had in two buns and deep, forest green eyes. She looked young, around her mid-twenties, perhaps.

The child had dirty, hay-colored hair that simply hung down to the little girl's shoulders. The child wore a simple white shirt and shorts, although her clothing was splattered with blood and earth.

Lighting flashed close by the unlikely duo, and a tremendous boom of thunder shook the area. The child whimpered and clutched the kunoichi's chest.

"Don't worry, Sakura," the kunoichi said. "We'll find shelter soon."

As the kunoichi said this, she looked around her, hoping to find something to take shelter in. Through the blinding rain, the kunoichi saw the faint outline of a cliff face about 100 yards to the left. The kunoichi turned toward the cliff.

"Yu-yuriko-sama... Did you find shelter?" Sakura asked in a wobbly voice.

Yuriko smiled down at Sakura. "I might have. There's a cliff over there, and I'm hoping that there will be a cave somewhere. If there is, we can get inside and take shelter there."

"Oh, okay," said the child.

Yuriko dashed toward the cliff, scanning the wet rock for any dark holed that would indicate caves. She found one, several feet in the air. Tensing her leg muscles, Yuriko leaped up , landing neatly on a ledge of stone right outside the cliff. Sakura gasped.

"That was amazing!" The child's face lit up as she beamed at her companion. Yuriko smiled back.

Suddenly, a boom of thunder shook the stone. Sakura let out a cry of terror and attached herself to the kunoichi. Yuriko sighed. "Sakura, it'll be okay. I'm here to protect you."

"I want my mommy..." the little girl whimpered.

A shadow of pain darkened Yuriko's face for a moment, and she clutched Sakura close.

"If I sing a lullaby for you, will it make you feel better?" Yuriko murmured in the little girl's ear. Sakura nodded and sniffed.

"Oaky, Sakura. I used to sing this to my little girl all the time. It was her favorite."

"Used to?" asked Sakura, her baby blue eyes wide. "What happened?"

For a moment, a look of terrible anguish and grief crossed Yuriko's face. A searing pain lanced through her body, and then both the look and the pain were gone.

"She grew up," Yuriko said matter-of-factly.

"Oh," said Sakura. "She grew up."

Yuriko took a deep breath and started to sing.

_"__Dango dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku_

_dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku_

_yancha na yaki dango yasashii an dango_

_sukoshi yumemigachi na tsukimi dango_

_osumashi goma dango yotsu ko kushi dango_

_minna minna awasete hyakunin kazoku_

_akachan dango wa itsumo shiawase no naka de_

_toshiyori dango wa me o hosometeru_

_nakayoshi dango te o tsunagi ooki na marui wa ni naru yo_

_machi o tsukuri dango boshi no ue minna de waraiau yo_

_usagi mo sora de te o futte miteru dekkai otsuki-sama_

_ureshii koto kanashii koto mo zenbu marumete_

_nakayoshi dango te o tsunagi ooki na marui wa ni naru yo_

_machi o tsukuri dango boshi no ue minna de waraiau yo_

_usagi mo sora de te o futte miteru dekkai otsuki-sama_

_ureshii koto kanashii koto mo zenbu marumete_

_dango dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku_

_dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku_

_dango dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku_

_dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku..."_

"That was beautiful...!" Sakura murmured, half-asleep.

Yuriko smiled as a single tear slid down her cheek. "Thank you... Saki..."

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End file.
